Wolves can stay clear, says Foley

Man of the moment Kevin Foley insists Wolves can remain Championship top dogs – as he declared he wants to stay at Molineux for life.

Foley crowned a man of the match performance by scoring the second goal in Wolves' 2-0 win over Barnsley after setting up the first.

Victory saw Wolves regain their six-point lead over Birmingham, who lost 1-0 at Preston as the Championship reached the halfway stage of the season.

And 24-year-old full-back Foley believes leaders Wolves are there to stay. Asked if Wolves were the best in the Championship, he said: "I feel we are. If you're top of the league and you don't believe you're that, you sound quite weak.

"So we've got to believe we're the best. There's been nothing out there to show we're not the best.

"We've had a few bad results but so has everyone else.

"It's all about consistency and we've had that this season."

Wolves are on course for an amazing double feat of 100 goals and 100 points and Foley believes they can keep up their form.

"Why not? We've proved in the past that whenever we've lost, we've hit back with strong runs of games and hopefully this can be the start of another," he said.

And the former Luton man, who has 18 months on his contract, wants to stay at Molineux long term.

"I would (sign for life) because I love it here and I'm having a great time – all the lads are fantastic and it's a great team to be part of," he said.

"But football's strange and things can change from day to day.

"As long as we're all playing well then it will always be a happy place.

Team-mate Andy Keogh believes Foley can play at the very top and will now win a senior Irish cap.

"Kev was brilliant – he deserved his goal," he said.

"He just has to keep doing what he's doing and he'll play at the top eventually and play for his country.

"He just needs to worry about how he plays week in week out.

"He was unbelievable – and he's going to get better and better."

Wolves top scorer Chris Iwelumo will be fit to hand boss Mick McCarthy a selection boost at Doncaster this Saturday ahead of the festive programme.

The 15-goal marksman has missed the last two games with an ankle injury sustained in training seven days ago. But the Scottish international will rejoin full training again tomorrow.

By TIM NASH